The
Search For Happiness
Recently I had a phone call from an old friend, suffering from panic
attacks and unable to cope.
In the material world he has everything you could imagine, and he is not
suffering from the lack of anything. But he is impoverished in the spirit and
unable to live a happy life.
We tend to always look at things
we “don’t have” and lament about them, while we forget to enjoy” What we have”
to find satisfaction in them.
He feels that his life is meaningless. He is in a mid life crisis.
We should understand that there is no difference between ourselves and
others except in the shape, form, color and name. If I have the feelings of
hunger and pain, all other humans also definitely have them. If we are blessed
with plenty we should also know how to share & enjoy. When we have a string
of successes and material gains, we forget this (as the brainwashing by the TV
ads wants you to) and cling to material possessions and buy many things we do
not actually need. We find happiness in our possessions. They actually sap our
spirit and make us devoid of the inner peace. We become self centered and
narrow minded.
We want to avoid pain, forgetting that pleasure contains the seed of
pain. It does not mean that we should not enjoy life, but do so from a perspective
of balance and detachment. Also try to be of use to others during this short
life.
Otherwise when the harsh realities of life surface, or when crisis
emerges in life, we are unable to cope. This is the curse of the “modern” life.
The only certain thing other than “mother”, in life, is “death”.
How to live life in such a manner that you are always balanced and
autonomous, at the same time ready to heed the “exit call”, is something we
should cultivate from a young age. Practice will slowly bring maturity in us
and then lead to equanimity.
